Saturday, April 24, 2010

Momos!!!

These traditional Tibetan steamed dumplings are one of my favorite foods. They're typically served with a tomato chutney called achar. However, I think tomato achar tastes too much like Mexican salsa and is a pain in the ass to make. Instead, I just whisk together keycap manis (a sweet Indonesian soy sauce available at any Asian grocer) with Siracha and soy sauce.

Start with the dough. Combine flour and water in a bowl and mix well. With a stand mixer or by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes. The consistency should be somewhat like pizza dough--if it is too dry, add a TBSP or two of water. Let stand at least 30 more minutes, covered.

Bake or microwave the potato. Cut into small cubes. Set aside in a covered container.

Heat the ghee or oil over medium heat in a frying pan or wok. Add all filling ingredients except the potatoes and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until everything becomes a bit

tender. Add potatoes and sauté another minuter or two.

Bring a bamboo or stackable steamer to a boil on high heat.

Now assemble your momos. Divide the dough into 18 small balls and cover. With a rolling pin, roll a dough ball into a 4-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon a few tablespoons of filling into the disk. Pinch the dumpling closed around the filling. As you may have noticed from the picture above, I'm not great at making this look very pretty. But there are many momo how-to videos online. I recommend you check them out before attempting.

After you're dumplings are formed, it's time to steam them. I recommend that you brush the bottom of the steamer with a bit of oil to prevent sticking. Steam 8-10 minutes or until dumplings are tender but not chewy and dried out.

While the momos steam, make the dipping sauce by whisking together the three ingredients.

Talking Dirty:

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

~Harriet van Horne

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.

~Voltaire

Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili.

~The dying words of Kit Carson

The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star.

~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

~Chinese proverb

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.

~Epicurus

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.

~Henry David Thoreau

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

~M. F. K. Fisher

Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie.

~Astrid Alauda

Great food is like great sex. The more you have, the more you want.

~Gael Greene

All sorrows are less with bread.

~Miguel de Cervantes,Don Quixote

A good cook is the peculiar gift of the gods. He must be a perfect creature from the brain to the palate, from the palate to the finger's end.

~Walter Savage Landor

Good food ends with good talk.

~Geoffrey Neighor

A meal, however simple, is a moment of intersection. It is at once the most basic, the most fundamental, of our life's activities, maintaining the life of our bodies; shared with others it can be an occasion of joy and communion, uniting people deeply.

~Elise Boulding

There's nothing like good food, good wine, and a bad girl.

~Anonymous

The joys of the table belong equally to all ages, conditions, countries and times; they mix with all other pleasures, and remain the last to console us for their loss.

~Antheleme Brillet-Savar

Serve this dish with much too much wine for your guests, along with some cooked green vegetables and a huge salad. You will be famous in about half an hour.

~Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

Olive oil? Asparagus? If your mother wasn't so fancy, we could shop at the gas station like normal people.